UCF transfer Laila Jewett narrows to four finalists

UCF transfer Laila Jewett has narrowed down to four potential landing spots, she told On3. Jewett is considering Georgetown, Oklahoma State, William & Mary and East Carolina. 

“I definitely bring three-level scoring and leadership,” Jewett told On3. “I really play both guard spots. I’ve played point guard at UCF, but I can also play on the wing, because I have the size to do so. I’m an elite three-point shooter.”

She’s taken visits to all four schools and plans to make her decision by Jan. 1. Jewett was UCF’s full-time starting point guard last season and averaged 8.3 points and 3.4 assists. 

“Since I only have one year, and I know I want to play after college, I’m just looking for the best program that can develop me and let me have the ball in my hands,” Laila Jewett told On3. “I need to play to be able to get seen and play professionally, so that’s really what I’m looking for.”

Laila Jewett talked to On3 about each of the four schools involved in her recruitment. 

Oklahoma State

“They were reaching out to me pretty early on. It was a quick turnaround for me, because I left the UCF team at the end of October, and they reached out to me maybe a week after that. I really appreciated that. It was really funny that they just happened to be in the same conference. They’ve already seen me play, so I kind of already knew what they had going on and how they played. They showed me how I could fit into their offense. Coach Jacie [Hoyt] and coach Kelby Jones, they’re great. I enjoyed that visit. They showed me where I could fit and everything like that.” 

East Carolina

“It’s been great. I know a lot of people that go there. I played against them or played with them. My teammates that left UCF go there, actually. Coach Kim [McNeill] has been great. Coach Jason Harris, he actually coached me in high school, so it was kind of like off the bat, a sense of familiarity.”

William & Mary

“In AAU, I played for Team Takeover. My assistant coach, Bryan Dickerson, his daughter is the head coach at William and Mary, so I already know they would just let me play. They’d just let me hoop. Coach Erin [Dickerson Davis] has been great. They also have a coach, Sugar Rogers, who played at Georgetown and in the WNBA. It was a lot of picking her brain on that visit, especially.”

Georgetown

“I literally just got back from Georgetown. Coach Kelly Mazzante reached out to me first. She was a WNBA player, played in the Big Ten, was an All-American, and all that. I just love it when the assistant coaches have played somewhere, and I just was doing a lot of picking her brain and coach Bella [Alarie]’s brain. Coach Bella went to Princeton. She was picked fifth in the WNBA draft. It was just a lot of picking their brains. Coach [Darnell] Haney is just great honestly. He’ll just FaceTime me. He’s like an uncle or something. I know some kids there too, like Brianna Scott – we played against each other. I’m from Virginia, so it’s not too far, or anything like that, so it’s an area that I’ve been in before.”